Tom Pidcock could have been forgiven for thinking his Tokyo dream was over in May when he sustained a broken collarbone from being hit by a car while out on a training ride. However, on Monday he joined the gold rush, winning Great Britain’s third gold medal with a dominant ride in the men’s cross-country mountain bike race in Izu. The 21-year-old Yorkshireman started on the fourth row but quickly got himself into the leading group and powered past the Swiss pair of Mathias Flückiger and Nino Schurter to take control on the fourth of seven laps. Flückiger was the only man left in touch but Pidcock kept the power down to win by 20 seconds, even having time to snatch a union flag, which he held aloft as he crossed the line, from the small crowd of spectators allowed into the course. “I’m always better when I take control. I take my own lines, my own speed. Once we started I was fine, all the nerves kind of went and I concentrated on the race,” he said. “It’s nothing like any other race. The Olympics just transcends any sport. You compete and represent your country and everyone in your country is behind you, no matter what sports they like. It’s just national pride, it’s unbelievable.” In May, Pidcock had been riding downhill in Andorra when his bike was hit from the side by a driver. His Ineos Grenadiers coach, Kurt Bogaerts, said Pidcock had been catapulted over the car and pictures emerged of his bike snapped into two pieces by the impact. The crash caused him to withdraw from the Tour de Suisse. Covid restrictions were already limiting his training and race opportunities, but the Leeds-born rider prepared for the conditions in Tokyo by training in a super-heated tent in the spare room of his house. “I haven’t done a good race since. I’ve trained really hard, I knew I was in great shape, but there’s always doubt when I haven’t performed in a race. “Once the race started, I knew I was in a good place. The heat, I mean, I didn’t feel good but everyone told me no one will feel good.” Pidcock adds the Olympic mountain bike title, Britain’s first, to his already extensive list of honours, having won world titles in cyclocross, road and mountain bike events at under‑23 level. He is a road racer with the Ineos Grenadiers team and has been tipped as a potential future Grand Tour champion. When asked how it felt to win gold, Pidcock told Eurosport: “Not real. It’s pretty crazy that I became an Olympian and I was trying to tell myself at the start of the race it’s special just to be here.” David Valero of Spain won the battle for bronze, 34sec down, the distance to the chasing pack underlining Pidcock’s dominance. Mathieu van der Poel, another of the pre-race favourites, pulled out after the fifth lap having crashed heavily early on. “He went in super slow and I backed off because I knew that wasn’t going to end well,” Pidcock said. Ondrej Cink was another casualty, showing obvious disappointment when a puncture ended his race while he was in a promising position. “I have high expectations on myself but I delivered,” Pidcock said.“I’ve got time on my side. I’m in no rush. I’m Olympic champion so I’m clearly not doing much wrong. I will enjoy this first.”